The spikes of 105 pairs of cleats pierced the fresh AstroTurf of Smith Stadium as the 2014 WKU football team made its grand entrance into the arena.

It was the first game of the season, and everyone was ready. As the players warmed up on the field, there was a confidence in the air so thick it could almost be tasted. Everyone was expectant.

No one was more expectant, however, than the new quarterback, Brandon Doughty.

Doughty, the starting quarterback on WKU’s football team, had spent five years waiting for this moment. He had struggled through injury and adversity, but this was his time to shine.

View the full story here.

Originally published in the 2015 edition of Western Kentucky University’s Talisman. This story won first place in the yearbook personality profile category of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s 2016 Gold Circle Awards.